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Carrie Coon (left) and Justin Theorux reunite in the final moments of the series finale of HBO’s “The Leftovers.” [HBO photo]

THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM THE SERIES FINALE OF HBO SERIES “THE LEFTOVERS.”

“Nothing is answered. Everything is answered. And then it ends.”

The official HBO synopsis for Sunday’s series finale of “The Leftovers” reads as though it was tapped from the same vein through which the series itself flows. In just three sentences, it’s a darkly comical, proudly vague and unflinchingly crass reflection of creators Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta’s disinterest in answering every question they’ve posed — right the bitter end.

Thankfully, the stunning and simplistic final episode of the show’s incomparable three-season run does offer viewers who stuck by it through the dreary, the unexplained and the gorgeously baffling an immensely satisfying send-off that is surprisingly and wonderfully cathartic.

In the final moments of episode, the camera settles in on its two anchors — Carrie Coon’s Nora and Justin Theroux’s Kevin — sitting on opposite ends of her dining room table. “The Leftovers” has never been afraid of big jumps, be they geographical (Mapleton to Jarden to Australia) or planes of existence (life to purgatory-ish). So it’s fitting in its final episode, the series take one final leap — several decades into the future.

To read the full reflection on “The Leftovers” and the series finale, head over to the StarNews.

The remarkable first two seasons of “The Leftovers,” HBO’s exploration of grief in the wake of a global rapture, forged a reputation for tackling a litany of heavy topics — religion, depression, cult-enforced chain smoking, existential trips to the afterlife, bad karaoke singing and, more broadly, the meaning of life itself. Needless to say, smiling and laughter weren’t often on the table.

So it’s a bit unnerving to see a fair amount of both in the premiere of the show’s third and final season, beginning 9 p.m. Sunday.… Read More »